It has been quite an eventful offseason for Coach Jerry Stackhouse & staff.
Roster turnover is something that Vanderbilt basketball fans are accustomed to at this point, but the new faces in black and gold may reach an all-time high during the 2022-2023 season – Stackhouse’s 4th season at the helm.
With superstar point guard Scotty Pippen Jr. declaring for the 2022 NBA Draft (for real this time), the Commodores needed at least 1 experienced addition to a backcourt that also lost Dayton/UTC transfer Rodney Chatman.
Talented Freshmen guards Noah Shelby and Paul Lewis were already expected to join the Vanderbilt squad in the Summer. The Commodores are also returning Junior guards Tyrin Lawrence and Trey Thomas.
However, this obviously was not enough production to replace what Pippen Jr. did and the presence of veteran Guard Rodney Chatman provided both tangibly and intangibly.
Coach Stackhouse was up to the task and hit the transfer portal soon after. Vanderbilt landed UC-Davis transfer Point Guard Ezra Manjon in late April. The California native spent three seasons with the Aggies and averaged over 15.0 points/game a season ago.
UTEP transfer Combo Guard Keonte Kennedy also announced he would transfer to Vanderbilt in May. Kennedy spent three seasons with the Miners. Broke out in his Junior season with UTEP averaging 14.1 points per game and shot 41.9% from the field in 2022.
However, Keonte Kennedy will not make it to campus this Summer and is not expected to be with the team this season, a source told The Dore Report on Friday.
Kennedy was expected to be a big contributor in the backcourt for the Commodores and had an opportunity to see significant minutes this season. This leaves Vanderbilt with twelve scholarship players and it is unknown how the last spot will be filled.
TDR reached out Vanderbilt Athletics for comment and have not received a response – this section will be updated with any additional information/comment provided
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